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20101223

So, I wanted to clue you in on the two crafty things that I did discover this Christmas season.

One, I've figured out how to turn my multitude of wrapping paper into paper bags.

Not the most useful thing this year (except it works for cookie deliveries), but I suspect that when I have a child at grade school, it'd be neat to send in lunches made out of wrapping paper or such at Christmas time.

Two, I finally learned how to make a damnable bow out of wired ribbon.

For years I've lusted after this ribbon, only to reject it, because it was nearly useless in my wrapping efforts. Now, I buy this ribbon ALL the time. That's my new Christmas wrapping rule.

Any one want tutorials on either of these items? If so, let me know. I think I'd enjoy putting those online.

I want to add some more memories to my life. Some of these are Christmas related, others not:

1. N has been really worked up about Christmas this year. He has some grasp of what is occurring and realizes things are working up into a fever pitch of cookie making, Christmas lights, and presents. As such, we've started to let him on to the fact that Santa brings presents for good boys and girls. Now that he realizes that Santa brings stuff, he's started to think of Santa as a slightly scary but mostly awesome individual. The first time we met him this year, he was SUPER excited. It was chat, chat, chat. However, since then he has not wanted to sit with Santa.

We'd beg him to look at the camera with a smile, and he'd just look over at us slightly peeved that we had interrupted his conversation. Anyway, Santa came around to visit on a fire engine, and then we went to visit my brother-in-law and his darling wife and Santa was there with a fire engine. Each time, he screams "Hi, Santa! HI! Hi, Santa!" His hand is out waving and he is yelling. The second time, Santa came and visited the children and would sit with them. I asked him if he wanted to sit with Santa and I got a resounding NO! Then, I pointed out that Santa was giving out candy canes and books. He paused.

Again, I asked. This time, the answer was a muffled yes in my neck. He watched fascinated as the other kids sat with Santa and got candy canes from Mrs. Claus. I told him that Santa's wife was giving out candy canes and he said, "Grandma give out candy canes."

I asked, "Grandma?" He confirmed it, "Grandma Santa!" He sat with Santa and got his candy cane and was excited.

2. We've also been hyping up the 'giving Santa cookies' routine. We have told him that he has to leave cookies for Santa, a carrot for the reindeer, and his book told him to leave a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse. We quiz him on this since it does help him with the concepts of giving and that Santa won't be around when N is awake. However, it's very important to him now because people will ask him about it. At the library today, the librarians and security guard listened to him talk about Santa. Then they asked him what he'd give to Santa and he told them cookies. I asked him about the reindeer and he told them about the carrot.

I walked away at that point, while holding him. Over my shoulder, he yelled out to them, "Mouse cheese!"

3. N has managed to grasp the concept that "I love you" means something. He will deny loving me if he is angry at my brazen dictatorship of the household. However, sometimes when he's sleepy, and we giggled our way into tired napdom, he'll hug me tight while blinking his eyes open and say several times, "I love you."

Or, he might just say, "No kissing! Sleep time!" if he is annoyed with snuggles.

4. There is some severe cookie making love in this household. Apparently, nothing beats mixing up dough, pouring in sugar and butter and eggs and flour, and eating dough. However, an extra loved step is rolling out cookies for the most difficult cookie I make -- the rolled sugar cookie. Today, after his bath, he came out to find me making cookies, and he was shocked and dismayed. "Make cookies?" he asked.

He began to tug on the chair he uses to stand on while we cook, and he was yelling, "Chair! Chair" at me. After we mixed up the cookies, I laid some out to roll out, and my husband came over. N graciously allowed his daddy to push him up to the area to see the rolling out better before telling him, "Living room, daddy. Watch football." That's right -- he told him to get out!

We haven't been blogging because we're too busy to blog! Always on the go, always moving about!

Okay, that's not true, unless you count the pediatrician's office as a destination. Our household has been fighting illness since September. My husband and I are tired of, and N is definitely tired of it. I don't blame him. I feel horrible on the nights he wakes up in pain from ear infections. He feels horrible because he is in pain. I can't take the pain away so I just have to sit up next to him while Motrin or Tylenol start to work.

I mean, imagine him making this face at night and crying and without the adorableness of the Batman costume to mitigate it.

But I keep thinking about my blog. I want to blog. I'm dying to blog. I internally made resolutions for the new year about blogging. Then I realized this was dumb because I was waiting to blog. So, I said to myself, "Self, just blog." So, that's what I'm doing.

What am I up to nowadays? Cookie making like you would not believe.

In the last two days, I've made a batch of snickerdoodles, a batch of chocolate chip cookies, a batch of meringue cookies, a batch of peanut butter cups, and a batch of rolled sugar cookies (which I need to ice). I'm cookied-out! Not really. And the house smells delightfully of cinnamon.